Given name

Riku

Riku is a masculine given name from Russian. It is used in Finnish.

Meaning & origin

Where it comes from

Riku comes from Russian.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How it developed

In Finnish usage, Riku is a diminutive of RIKHARD.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1996. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Riku through the years

Babies since 1880
483
483 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
2024
24 babies
2025
13
#6,730 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+13%
Rising
05101520002025Highest share 20247.6
Riku in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1996–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,730 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 382 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Riku’s family of names

In Finnish usage, Riku is a diminutive of RIKHARD. In Finnish usage, Riku shares a linguistic root with the English form Gregory. In Finnish usage, Riku has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Ricardo.

Walk Riku’s family in the name graph

Rikuりく理来竜孔RikhardRichardRicardo

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Riku has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Russian roots to each of them.

EnglishJapaneseRussian

8 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 1

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Spellings & scripts 3

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 4

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Riku, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

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“helper of God”

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“the goal, the aim”

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Sibling ideas

Names that share Riku’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Riku

A sister for Riku